Good morning, Baltimore: Need to know for Thursday

Today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies, high temperature near 85 degrees, and a 50 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout the day. Thursday night is expected to bring increasing clouds, with a low around 65 degrees.

Arguments in Werdesheim trial conclude: Baltimore Circuit Judge Pamela J. White has heard a week of arguments in the bench trial of Eliyahu Werdesheim, 24, and his brother, Avi Werdesheim, 22. After the prosecutor and defense attorneys completed their closing statements Wednesday afternoon, White told them that she expects to issue her verdict at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Maryland hospital rates to tick upward: In a close vote, the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission agreed to lower the rates for inpatients by 1 percent but raise the rates for those receiving outpatient services by 2.59 percent, giving the hospitals an overall increase of 0.3 percent. The rates are for the year starting July 1.

State won't renew contract with major foster care provider: Following a series of troubles at Contemporary Family Services, Maryland's second-largest foster care provider will lose its contract with the state to place children in homes, a Department of Human Resources spokesman said Wednesday.

Hopkins-led study observes destruction of star by black hole: It's rare to witness the entirety of a murder. But that's how some local scientists investigated exactly what happened during a fatal attack in 2010. The victim? A star 2.7 million light-years away that had lost its outer layers in previous brushes with its attacker -- a black hole.